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Just Say No to Warrantless Searches

If the police are asking for your permission to search, you are under no obligation to consent. The only reason they are asking is due to the fact that they do not have enough cause to search without your consent. If you do consent you are waiving all of your rights provided to you under the Fourth Amendment. You will give up your right to an unreasonable search and seizure, in your home, your car or on your person.

The protection against unreasonable searches and seizures than the Fourth Amendment provides to all citizens, in their homes, cars, and their persons is an awesome one. Most courts have recognized limited exceptions to warrant requirements for searches. However, the courts do not dispense with the need to have a reasonable belief in the circumstances surrounding a search, i.e., they must be able to articulate “probable cause.” The Fourth Amendment is a serious constraint on police conduct. Therefore, it is no small wonder that police prefer to conduct searches with the consent of the suspect. The Supreme Court requires a valid consent to be freely and voluntarily given and without coercion or duress exerted by police officers in obtaining the consent.

A bulk of avoidable police searches occur because subjects naively waive their Constitutional rights by consenting to warrantless searches. As a general rule, if a person consents to a warrantless search, the search automatically becomes reasonable and legal. Consequently, whatever an officer finds during such a search can be used AGAINST YOU!

Don’t expect an officer to tell you about your right not to consent. Police are not required to inform you of your rights before asking you to consent to a search. On the contrary, Texas police officers are trained to use their authority to get people to consent, and most people are predisposed to comply. If you don’t want an officer searching your personal belongings, you have the right to refuse consent by saying the following… “Officer, I understand that you just want to do your job, but I do not consent to any searches of my private property.”

You should never hesitate to assert your constitutional rights. Just say no! Never waive any of your rights without discussing the matter with an experienced criminal lawyer.

What To Do If You Have Been Arrested

The single most important piece of advice is not to say anything to the police. You’ve seen and heard it on every television show or movie you can think of. The good old Miranda Warnings. You have the right to remain silent.

Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law… These rights were given to you for a reason. If you are arrested, tell the police you want to speak to an attorney and do not want to talk with them about anything. Do not believe their promises of going easier on you if you cooperate. What you must understand is that if the police had enough evidence against you for a conviction, there would be no point in talking to you. Most criminals get caught and then convicted because someone has ratted them out. Don’t make the mistake of giving the police the evidence they need to convict you.

Have You Been Charged with an Offense?

The police are required to charge you with an offense if they are going to hold you. You have no obligation to submit to questioning by the police. Sometimes, if you are picked up at the crime scene, you will be questioned on the spot. Other times, you will be brought in for questioning. While you do not have the right to interfere with their investigation, you cannot be required to cooperate against your will or give them any information that might incriminate you. You must understand that a common tactic of the police when they do not have enough evidence to charge you with a crime is to gather the information they need from you to help make their case. The bottom line is if you are questioned by the police, do not tell them anything, other than to remind them that they either have to charge you with an offense or let you go. If they let you go, enjoy the rest of your day. You may, of course, want to speak to an attorney in case they find evidence to strengthen their case against you. If you have been charged with committing a crime, then you demand to speak to an attorney and tell the police you do not want to talk to them about anything.

Phone Call after Arrest

If you are formally arrested, you will be permitted to use the phone. The first phone call you should make is to a family member or close friend that can make bail arrangements and contact an attorney on your behalf. If the alleged crime is not serious, bail can be arranged at a relatively low cost.

For more serious crimes, your family member will have to contact a bail bondsman and pledge collateral for the bail bond. Make sure to find out from the bondsman whether any monies given are non-refundable. It is important that you get to go in front of a judge as soon as possible so that the issues regarding bail and release can be brought to the attention of the Judge. Never waive any of these rights. If you have not secured a private attorney, upon a showing of indigence, a public defender will be appointed to argue the issue of the amount of bail on your behalf. Do not represent yourself. If for some reason you cannot make bail, remember that the time you serve in jail will most likely be counted towards any prison sentence that is rendered by the court. Let up hope you never have the opportunity to apply any of this advice.

The family of Gregorio de la Rosa, Jr. was awarded $42.5 million from their lawsuit filed against The GEO Group for negligence in the 2001 death of Gregorio while he was in custody of the Willacy County Correctional Facility in Raymondsville, TX. According to the court’s judgment, “Gregorio, an honorably discharged former National Guardsman, was serving a six-month sentence at a prison operated by Wackenhut Correction Corporation [now The GEO Group] for possession of fewer than 1/4 grams of cocaine. A few days before his expected release, Gregorio was beaten to death by two other inmates using a lock tied to a sock, while… Wackenhut’s wardens smirked and laughed” (TPB).

During the following investigation, prosecutors questioned whether or not The GEO Group destroyed surveillance video evidence of the incident. The family claimed there was a videotape of the event, and when questioned about the video, “Warden Forrest testified during his deposition that there was a video camera on one of the perimeter posts that was focused down on the beating. In his sworn statement, he admitted to seeing a tape of the beating and described the video and the beating in detail. His stated that the video showed ‘that one inmate had beat another inmate with a sock filled with a lock,’ and it showed an inmate kicking and punching Gregorio.

“After reviewing his deposition, however, Warden Forrest changed his testimony, claiming that the video never existed. At trial, he admitted to describing the video in his deposition testimony, but he claimed that his prior testimony describing the video was ‘based on all the information that I received regarding that incident over and over receiving information.’ He explained that he had created his ‘own little movie’ in his mind.

“I did that based on all the information that I received regarding that incident over and over receiving information. I put that picture—painted that picture in my head that I believed that’s what I saw, and that’s what I testified to, and I corrected it that day and at a later date… I described what I thought I saw based on the information of everyone telling me what happened. I painted a picture of that incident in my mind, and I played it over in my mind many, many times since then.”

However, since this ruling against The GEO Group, the de la Rosa’s attorney, Ronald Rodriguez, has charged the company with filing fraudulent SEC reports. The GEO Group claimed that both the Texas Rangers and the Texas Office of the Inspector General both exonerated the company from any responsibility for the death of de la Rosa in 2001. However, there is no record of either party having this sentiment. According to Rodriguez’s statements, “there is nothing in the record supporting GEO’s patently untrue statements of material fact and omission of material fact, in the documents filed with the SEC” (BH). Rodriguez claims the actions of The GEO Group are a mockery of the legal system. Last Friday, Rodriguez said these claims of filing fraudulent SEC reports is still forthcoming.

On another similar note, the investigation into de la Rosa’s murder case also uncovered some information linking former Vice President Dick Cheney to $85 million in investments with Vanguard Group and the prison industry. Attorney Juan Guerra asserts that these investments resulted in Cheney using his influential position to quell proper and thorough investigations into the murder of de la Rosa, and that the money given to the family in 2006 was an attempt to end all investigations into Gregorio’s death. After filing these charges, Juan Guerra was arrested and claimed that it was an attempt to keep him from uncovering the information linking the Vice President to murder coverups.

Statistics

Did you know that 76% of former prisoners are re-arrested within 5 years?

That’s why we follow our clients for 5 years after their release from prison.

U.S. prison population

The U.S. prison population recently hit the 1.8 million mark and that’s just counting those in prison or jail. Throw in parolees and probationers and the combined number of people under some form of correctional supervision rises to nearly 6 million, an estimated one out of every 38 adults.

“I have visited some of the best and the worst prisons and have never seen signs of coddling, but I have seen the terrible results of the boredom and frustration of empty hours and pointless existence.” — former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Warren Burger